Chelsea striker Demba Ba says that competition for places with Fernando Torres "brings out the best" in him.

The Senegalese joined the Blues in January and has vied for a starting position with his fellow forward ever since, netting six goals in 21 appearances in a "not-too-bad" start to life at Stamford Bridge.

"It brings out the best because we're real competitors," Ba told Goal about his tussle for starts with Torres. "We want to play every game.

"When you have a player like Fernando giving 100 percent every day, you have to give 100 percent if you want to stay on top of your game. That's what I do every training session, game after game.

"[It's been a] great move for me," the 27-year-old enthused.

"I could have done better than I did but I'm pleased because I've learned a lot, I've played a lot of games and learned about my teammates as well."

With former manager Jose Mourinho set to return to Stamford Bridge, Ba is excited about the prospect of working with the Portuguese and believes that nothing short of a domestic and European triumph will be the aim.

"If it's Mourinho as everybody is talking about, I will be very happy and the whole squad will be very happy," the striker added.

"The league and the Champions League [are our expectations for 2013-14]. Nothing less than that."

Ba left Newcastle to join Chelsea in January and, when asked about the fortunes of his former club, the forward suggested that the Magpies' Europa League exertions contributed to their struggles for form in the Premier League.

"When we were fighting for Europe the season before, everybody was fit, everybody was 100% and we were playing one game a week," he recalled. "Then, all of a sudden, you start playing two games a week and players start getting injured. The squad wasn't big.